BoSox Injection
Fansided

Red Sox Memories: Greatest outfields in franchise history

By Rick McNair

BOSTON, MA - MAY 21: Brian Dwyer announces the batters as they did in 1918 on May 21, 2011 at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts. Tonight the Chicago Cubs and the Boston Red Sox are wearing replica uniforms from 1918. Before this series, the two teams haven't played at Fenway Park since the 1918 World Series. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA - MAY 21: Brian Dwyer announces the batters as they did in 1918 on May 21, 2011 at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts. Tonight the Chicago Cubs and the Boston Red Sox are wearing replica uniforms from 1918. Before this series, the two teams haven't played at Fenway Park since the 1918 World Series. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
5 of 6
Next
(Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images)
(Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images) /

1975-1979

In 1975, the Gold Dust Twins arrived in Fred Lynn and Rice who teamed with Evans for a great grouping, but there is an asterisk regarding the 1977 season. Evans was on the sidelines for half the season and replaced by Bernie Carbo and Yastrzemski returned to left field where he played 138 games and won a Gold Glove Award.

James claims this was the best outfield of the decade and that is hard to dispute either with traditional numbers or metrics. In the metrics department, they led the AL in fWAR each year for an average of 17.4 fWAR. Lynn won a batting championship, and MVP, and a Rookie of the Year Award. Rice also won an MVP and twice captured the AL home run title. Evans won three Gold Glove Awards.

Defensively in 1975 and 1979, they led the AL in Total Zone and in two other years finished second in TZ. Over five years this trio had the best TZ in the AL with no one even close. Lynn was graceful and acrobatic in center field and Evans cornered the market on Gold Gloves. Rice is best described as competent and defensively with Yaz in left field in 1977 that may have been the strongest defensive alignment. Maybe a defensive match for Hooper, Speaker, and Lewis?

Again the culprit was contractual issues that sent Lynn to Los Angeles and possibly derailed Lynn joining Rice and Yaz in the HOF. A viable argument can be constructed that Evans is a possible HOF material. This was a great outfield and instrumental in the Red Sox winning one pennant and having three other seasons of the team winning 90+ games.

Home/Red Sox History